Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we had confirmation that the idea of recognizing the Quebec nation was nothing but empty words to the Liberal leader.

After saying that recognizing the Quebec nation was a “fact”, he tried to empty those words of their meaning by firmly closing the door to any specific gesture of recognition, such as the bill intended to require federally regulated companies to comply with Bill 101 in Quebec.

He did not have the courage to say as much during his speech, but the leader of the Liberal Party still felt the need to set a few limits before he spoke: “...there is no question of giving Quebec more power within the federation or taking real steps to give expression to the recognition of the Quebec nation...”

The Liberal leader can rest assured that he will find Quebec and the Bloc Québécois members in his path.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard wonderful, all-party tributes to the Canadians who landed on the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago on D-Day. I ask the House's indulgence while I add a personal tribute of my own.

My father, Hugh Hall, was one of those Canadians, a 22-year-old lieutenant and member of the Signal Corps with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders. He was the first Allied soldier in Caen, laying vital communication lines. He went on to help liberate Holland and was awarded the Military Cross.

Unfortunately, he passed away a number of years ago, well before I, his daughter, even thought of entering politics, and although he might have wondered at my decision to take this path, I know he would be proud of me being here now.

I am immensely proud to be here in this august chamber, able to participate in the tributes, and even more, being able to express my pride in him.

Mr. Speaker, by virtue of his 34 year absence from Canada, the just visiting Liberal leader cannot possibly be in touch with Canadians. He cannot possibly know what they feel and what they need in their day-to-day lives—

Mr. Speaker, as much as I feel it is my place to speak in the House, I respect your authority.

The quintessential symbol of a nation is its flag and the Liberal leader referred to our flag as “a pale imitation of a beer label”. Canadians from coast to coast are proud of that flag. Canadians around the world serve with that flag on their shoulder. I am proud of that symbol. I am proud of this nation that Canadians have built.

Our flag is no “pale imitation of a beer label”. It is the symbol of a strong and proud nation.

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that 60,000 Ontarians lost their full-time jobs in May. That is more workers than the entire populations of cities like North Bay, Welland, Caledon, Belleville or Cornwall. Because of the inequalities in the system, many of these workers cannot access employment insurance now when they need it. The safety net that they need is simply not there.

When will the Conservatives fix the EI system to help Canadian families survive this economic crisis?

Mr. Speaker, we were disappointed to see the Labour Force Survey results this morning, wherein so many people had lost their jobs. However, we can assure Canadians of one thing. They are getting better response from the EI system. Over 75% of Canadians who lose their jobs today have easier access to EI. They have it for a longer period of time than they would have last fall.

What the Liberals have proposed, in conjunction with the opposition, is a 45 day work year. The people who have lost their jobs are in the manufacturing sector. They have been paying into EI for years and years. Their proposal would not help them one bit.

Mr. Speaker, that is cold comfort to the Canadian families that do not have any income support during these tough times.

In three years the Conservative government has overseen the greatest loss of manufacturing jobs in Canadian history. We are now at the lowest level of manufacturing jobs since 1976. The response of the Conservatives, nothing.

Why have the Conservatives turned their back on Canadian manufacturers? Is it that they just do not care, or are they too incompetent to offer Canadians a real plan to protect and create Canadian manufacturing jobs?

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member has not been reading the papers lately. We have made significant investments in protecting manufacturing jobs, through our investment in General Motors and through our assistance to the other auto manufacturing parts of the country.

We are helping these people who were unfortunate enough to have lost their jobs by offering them EI benefits of up to two years if they invest in their own training to help them get the jobs of the future. That is helping those who are hardest hit by this downturn in the economy. The 45 day work year that the Liberals are proposing will not help anyone.

Mr. Speaker, how can Canadians who have just lost their jobs pay for their own training when they cannot even pay for their groceries?

Spring is here and construction sites across Canada should be busy, but building permits are down and 73,000 construction workers have lost their jobs since the January budget. The response of the Conservatives is a bureaucratic, clogged-up infrastructure program that is failing to create or protect Canadian jobs.

Canadian families cannot afford these delays. Why will the Conservatives not take the politics out of job creation? Why will they not transfer the funds directly to Canadian municipalities so they can invest the money, create Canadians jobs and build the kind of infrastructure Canadians need?

Mr. Speaker, our government is delivering a real plan of action that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs and support Canadian families. Most important, we are doing it 10 times faster than any Liberal government ever did. We are cutting red tape that Liberals put in place. We have made it a one page application.

We are working with our partners at the municipal, provincial and territorial levels. We are taking action where the Liberals failed continuously.

Mr. Speaker, preparing the future of our country is not this government's strong suit. Students are finding it increasingly difficult to find summer jobs. In May, the number of full-time student jobs declined by 59,000. The number of students employed or looking for work also recorded a sharp decrease.

If students are the workforce of tomorrow, the Conservative government is obviously failing them. Why has this government done nothing more to help students enter the job market?

Mr. Speaker, the member is wrong. In our economic action plan, there is more than $10 million to help students find summer jobs. That is what we have done.

In our economic action plan we have recognized that it is a tougher time for students to get a job this year. We invested another $10 million to create new jobs to help those students get a summer job where they can get funding to pay for their schooling as well as experience that will help them broaden their careers.

Mr. Speaker, that really is not enough. It is bad enough that students are suffering because of this government's inaction. However, when we learn that there were 11,465 personal and corporate bankruptcies in April, a 33% increase compared to the same period last year, we really wonder what this government is doing. Stores are closing, people are having difficulty paying their debts and companies are cutting jobs to get through the recession.

Will the government finally acknowledge that it is incapable of helping Canadians through this crisis?

Mr. Speaker, we have developed a plan. It is called an economic action plan. We are creating jobs through significant investments in infrastructure right across the country, in large and small cities.

We are protecting jobs. Over 120,000 people are now still in their jobs, not facing layoffs, because they are participating in our expanded work-sharing program. That is 120,000 jobs saved. We are providing unprecedented support for those who are unfortunate enough to lose their jobs, by offering them training, by expanding EI benefits by an additional five weeks and by offering those people the chance to go back to school and get the skills they need for the jobs of the future.